judy: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. all that and more on tonight's "pbs newshour." covid on the rise. hospitalizations increasing areas of low vaccination as misinformation about the virus abounds. then, at the extreme, major flooding turns deadly and destructive across europe, with climate change as a major factor. plus, raising the future. is this a moment for the country to step up to do more, to provide good childcare? now that the pandemic has exposed a system that is inadequate and unequal. childcare is an investment. obviously,or the parent that needs to be part of it.

but maybe the rest of us need to be part of it too. judy: it is friday and david rooks analyzes the massive budget bluepnt in congress and potentially game changing w tile -- child tax credit all that and more on tonight "pbs newshour." ♪ >> major funding for the pbs newshour been provided by -- bnsf railway coumer cellular johnson & johnson financial services firm raymond james >> the john s and james hill not foundation fostering engaged communities.

>> and with the ongoing support of these institutions. and friends of "pbs newshour." ♪ this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. judy: the biden administration sounded the alarm today about a surge of covid cases in some states, and a direct connection with low vaccination rates. the centers reported 33,000 new covid cases in the u.s. yesterday. that is a rise in new cases of 70%, compared with one week ago. hospital admissions are up by 36%.

the average death toll of the past week has climbed to 211 people per day. during a briefing today, the cdc director and other top officials outlined the danger. >> this is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated. we see outbreaks of cases and parts of the country with low vaccination coverage because unvaccinated people are at risk. judy: one reason for stubbornly low vaccination rates is misinformation, erroneous or false information, that may dissuade some people from getting a shot. the white house has been focused particularly on this, and the role of social media, in allowing false information to spread. on his way to cap david, president biden laid claim on facebook. >> what is your message to platforms like facebook? >> they are killing people. i mean, look, the only pandemic

we have is among the unvaccinated. and they are killing people. judy: facebook said, the president was wrong. in a statement, the company said more than 2 billion people have viewed authoritative information from facebook about covid and vaccines, more than any other place on the internet. all of this comes as concerns over covid are spiking regionally. this afternoon, nevada officials recommended the use of masks in las vegas in crowded indoor spaces. the rise in cases and hospitalizations around the u.s. is particularly bad in parts of the south, and the midwest. lisa desjardins picks up the story. >> duty, to get a sense of this look at the map of hotspots where covid cases are rising. two months ago there were no red spots on this national map. today there are significant number of states that are red, representing new cases and positive tests. seven of 10 counties with the

highest percentage of new cases per capita are in missouri and arkansas. arkansas's new cases have risen by 121% over the last two weeks. we look at the situation in that area and concerns about unvaccinated with an epidemiologist for the state. doctor, please take us into where the situation is out with coronavirus in your state? >> we are a state now that has low vaccination rates. at the same time, we are having a great deal of spread of the virus that causes covid-19. but it is the new delta variant, which is highly contagious. so, it is leading to a surge in cases, and a great increase in the number of hospitalizations in our state. >> i want to talk more about the vaccination rate. you have one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country, 35% of your population. what do you know about why that is?

>> part of it is that people do not understand the urgency of being vaccinated. we are a rural state so there were many rural communities that were not particularly affected this last winter, so they underestimate the potential for the disease to spread in their communities. and they are underestimating the infectiousness of the new delta variant. on top of that, there is a great deal of misinformation out there. and people struggle with telling the difference between the misinformation and the accurate information. so they are unable to make an informed decision, to get vaccinated. because they struggle with understanding what the need is, and what the risks are. on top of that, we have low health care providers in our state. we have underserved areas. so we have worked really hardo get vaccines out, into the rural

communities, through our pharmacies. often it is the pharmacies that is the only health care provider in the town. lisa: on misinformation, we see reports that is sometimes hostility now. people including your governor, to presenting the facts about the dangers of coronavirus. how do you combat that? at this point, you have put out the message. what can you do? >> i think one thing is to have empathy and compassion. and then, to help people address their concerns about whatever they have. they need to be heard and supported, to move to a new position, where they can accept new information. lisa: you mentioned the delta variant here. how dangerous do you believe that is? >> i think that the delta variant is very dangerous. it is highly contagious. it is very quick to put people

in the hospital. and at younger ages. so, i think it is going to be hard for people to make decisions, if they are basing those decisions on their experience of the past year. this is new. and people are underestimating it. lisa: how are your hospitals doing now with the surge? >> so, our hospitals are full, not so much with covid cases now , but with cases that have resulted from delayed care, or other health conditions that need immediate attention. on top of that, the staff are tired. they have worked so hard, over the last several months. and they are. not getting a break and they really need a break. we looked at our hospital numbers, in the last several days. they are increasing every day, for the past two weeks or more. at the current rate of increase,

we will double our hospitalizations by the beginning of august. and at that point, we would be at the peak, in terms of our number of covid hospitalizations , where we were in the wintertime. it is very concerning. lisa: around that same time, one month from now, is when freshman orientation begins at the university of arkansas. students will be back a few weeks after that. there is a home for bug game scheduled, tens of thousands of people -- a home football game scheduled with tens of thousands of people. what is your concern about those things going forward? >> we do have a concern and it is really important for people to follow public health recommendations which are, if they are not vaccinated, to wear a mask and practice social distancing. in the current situation, with school starting, that is going to be very difficult for people to adhere to. for that reason, we are strongly urging people to get vaccinated.

get fully vaccinated as soon as possible. lisa: a strong and important messages, dr. jennifer della hey, from arkansas sta. thank you for joining us. ♪ stephanie: we will return to judy woodruff and the full program after the latest headlines. britain reported 51,000 cases of covid-19, the most since january. the country's top medical advisor warned hospitalizations could reach scary levels. for now, england is set to scrap almost all covid restrictions monday. scotland and wales will keep a mask mandate in place. ewa stating slides across western germany and belgium claimed more victims today. at least 125 dead with hundreds still unaccounted for. thousands more have been forced

to flee after what would typically be two months' of rainfall fell in two days in some places. we will take a closer look after the news summary. in the western u.s., an inferno in southeast oregon destroyed nearly 200 homes and outbuildings overnight and threatens 5000 more. the bootleg fire is the largest of dozens of wildfires burning now in the u.s.. it is so intense that fire crews had to pull back for a fourth day for their safety. russia warned today the u.s. military pullout from afghanistan is causing chaos across the wider region. the warning came at a conference in uzbekistan. the american envoy acknowledged taliban forces have captured dozens of afghan districts and and he called for a cease-fire. >> the speed and amount of territory they have acquired is unexpected. but i believe there is no military solution, despite the progress.

for the war to end, there has to be a political agreement. stephanie: separately, reuters news photographer was killed today in fighting between afghan troops and taliban fighters on the pakistan border. his images of rohingya refugees in myanmar won a pulitzer prize in 2018. he also covered protests in hong kong and unrest in india. dinesh siddiqui was 38 years old. in cuba, human rights watch reports 400 people have been arrested in protests against the government. thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in recent days to voice discontent over the government's handling of covid-19 infections, limits on civil liberties, and shortages of basic goods. human rights watch says ateast tent journalists have been arrested while covering the protests. a federal judge in found the da ca created illegally which bars

deportations of those brought , into the u.s. illegally as children. the ruling does not affect the 650,000 people already protected under daca, at least for now. it does block approval of new applications. a senate investigation found a rogue division in the commerce department improperly targeted employees of chinese and middle eastern origin for counterintelligence probes. and a newly released report a senate committee says the racial profiling and other misconduct at the investigations threat management service dated back to the mid-2000s. the biden administration suspended those investigations earlier this year. federal prosecutors in california charged two men with plotting to blow up the democratic party state headquarters in sacramento. they allegedly planned to attack a string of democratic targets after the 2020 presidential election. still to come on the newshour, interior secretary deb haaland discusses this moment of reckoning, for native american boarding schools.

the u.s. sanctions chinese officials for the crackdown in hong kong. advocates wonder, if this is a moment for systemic change for the american child care system, and much more. ♪ >> this is the pbs newshour from weta studios and from the west at the walter cronkite studios at arizona state university. judy: returning now to catastrophic flooding in germany and belgium, in a moment we talk with a climate scientist about this and other extreme weather events. first, an upda on the latest. >> in western germany this week, entire cities seem to be underwater. days of heavy rainfall filled rivers to capacity and quickly turned into flash floodin [water rushing]

watcher moving with such force, it swept houses away and undermine the -- swept cars away and undermined the foundations of houses. >> i have never seen anything like this in my life. >> several people died when floodwaters because the land between their homes -- beneath their homes to collapse. search-and-rescue crews hunt for the missing. >> there is little sleep at the moment. the emergency workers feel obligated to help because they know how desperate some people are for help. >> entire communities have been left in ruins. as floodwaters started to recede today, the extent of the destruction was revealed. on her visit to washington, d.c., yesterday, german chancellor angela merkel, called the flooding a catastrophe. >> these are terrible days for the people in flooded areas. my thoughts are with you, and you can trust all forces of our government will do everything to save lives, alleviate danger, and relieve the stress. >> as parts of europe dig out

from the latest weather disaster, the european union this week revealed an ambitious climate change plan, one that could, hopefully, in time, decrease these types of disasters. that e.u. is proposing initiatives including a tax on jet fuel, and completely phasing out new gas and diesel cars by 2035. policy makers say the plan could cut your's greenhouse gas emissions by 55%. >> change on this scale is never easy, even when it is necessary. for that reason, there are some who will say, we should go slower, we should go lower, we should do less. but when it comes to climate change, doing less or doing nothing, literally means changing everything. >> scientist have linked extreme weather fluctuations, from heat

waves to torrential rains, to climate change. these extremes are not confined to europe. last month, ground temperatures in the arctic circle reached over 100 degrees fahrenheit. much of the western united states is suffering through a severe drought, which has provided ready tender for the wildfires that have broken out, especially early this year. and, for the first time in recorded history, deforestation and fires in the amazon, coupled with warmer temperatures, are causing parts of the rain forest to now spit out more carbon dioxide, that it absorbs. scientists -- than it absorbs. scientists fear this reversal could be a tipping point where one of the earth best ways of storingass amount of carbon is now becoming a carbon emitter. joining me now is gavin schmidt, a climatologist who serves as nasa's senior climate advisor. great to have you back on the newshour. we are seeing this devastation

in the flooding in europe, and also here in the u.s., the west is baking with drought and wildfires. these are the things that climate models have always predicted would happen. right? more and more of these extreme fluctuations? >> climate models have been predicting the globe, as a whole, would get warmer. and along with that, that we would be seeing more heat waves, and we would be seeing more intense precipitation, and an exacerbation of drought, particularly in places like the southwest or the mediterranean region, where you are seeing a lot more evaporative demand, taking water out of the soil and making droughts caused by lack of rainfall more serious for the people on the ground. >> can you explain how the mechanism actually works here? for people who might look and think, how is it climate change floods western europe, and purchase western america -- part

shows -- parches western america? >> there is a lot of variability and chaos in the system. but what is happening is that as the planet warms, there is more water vapor in the atmosphere as a whole. so, when it does rain, it is raining more intensely. that is partly what we are seeing in germany. you have a storm front going through and then the rainfall itself is more intense. that has led to significant increases in flooding in germany. in places that are dryer or are having a rainfall anomaly, like in the american southwest, the warning is drawing more moisture out of the soil. so that is intensifying the drought. and that is leading to the greater propensity for wildfires, smoke conditions, and bad health outcomes. >> it seems like we have caught ourselves in this sort of reinforcing loop. carbon goes into the atmosphere and the planet warms. the surface of the earth starts

to change which then can emit more carbon. and this process keeps feeding on itself? >> yes. there is undoubtedly what are called positive amplifying features, of the climate, that, once we start changing things, the system reacts. then it makes it a bigger change than it would have been otherwise. we know that is happening in the arctic, where the ice is melting. and that is bringing in more solar radiation, which is warming it even further. we know that is happening in places like the permafrost regions, or in the amazon, where we are changing the climate. and that is changing the carbon fluxes coming out of the system. >> this study has just come out about the amazon, in certain parts emitting out or carbon than it can absorb. do you share that concern the authors of the study indicate, this could be one of these major tipping points? >> so, i do not see the so much as a to be quite. it is part of those positive

amplifying features of the system. but, if some parts of the amazon go from being a small carbon sink to being a small carbon source, that impacts the total amount of carbon in the atmosphere, but it is not the difference between us being fine and the whole thing running away to venus or something. that is not going to happen. there are thresholds in the amazon. as the amazon dries, we anticipate it might kind of lose its ability to stay as rain forest. and it may become more like savannah. that would be a real tipping point in the regions ecosystem. >> we touched on the eu proposals and we have seen the biden evan is straight and has put forth its climate proposals here -- thbiden administration has put forth its proposals. those plans have been described as ambitious and bold. yet people some on the others would argue, they are still nowhere near enough, to address

the magnitude of the crisis we are facing. where do you come down on that spectrum? >> there is a lot of effort that needs to be done, in order to make policies that are commensurate with the size of this problem. to get to a point where we have reduced emissions by 60%, 80%, 90%, is going to take an enormous amount of work. and, as the chinese saying goes, a journey of 1000 miles starts with a single step. i think these plans from the european union and from the biden administration and other jurisdictions around the world, they are more than a single step. but they are not yet 1000 miles. but we need to start somewhere. and we have had, let's say, a slow take-up of practical plans, to reduce emissions, up until now. >> gavin schmidt, senior climate advisor for nasa, thank you for being here. >> thank you very much.

♪ judy: like canada, the u.s. has a painful history of creating boarding schools to try to reshape and reeducate native american children. it was a practice that led to trauma, abuse and death. for more than 150 years, indigenous children were taken from their families and forced into faraway boarding schools. at one point the were more than 300 such schools, often run by religious groups and some by the federal government. by the 1920's, 80% of native american school aged children were in these schools. those practices ended in the 1960's. but now, there is a reckoning. and a new federal investigation is underway. it is being run under the department of the interior and i spoke with interior secretary devon haloed about this and her

personal story -- deb haaland about this and her personal story. secretary, thank you for joining us and your personal story. i have to say this is one of the saddest, most disturbing stories i have ever seen. to think of the thousands of chdren taken from their families, so many of whom never came back. the families never knew what happened to them. it is unspeakable. and your own family was touched by this? sec. haaland: yes. it is a tragic era in our history, in american history. the boarding school era, i think about it as sort of one of the last-ditch efforts to get native americans out of their communities, and put them into mainstream society. after genocide, after the killing off of vast numbers of native folks, so folks could

take their land. and it was tragic. after everything else that happened as well, you know they took indians from their communities and their families, so they could indoctrinate them, right? to take away their clothing. to brutally you know, take weather languages and their cultures. and many children, yes, they never made it back home. i am grateful that my grandparents made it back home. i would not be here today if they had not, of course. and so, this is a history that all of us need to know about, so that we can begin a healing process for the families, who are still living with that generational trauma of the boarding school era, of the assimilation era, of all of that terrible eras of federal indian

policy, that tribes have had to live with. judy: do you have a good understanding, do you think, of what happened to the children who died? sec. haaland: well, i mean, we do not know. and that is one of the things that we hope to find out, with our federal boarding school initiative. it was widely known, that in indian boarding schools, that malnutrition was an issue. you know, if you talk to folks whose grandparents went to boarding school, and they have heard stories. you know, the stories about ks jumping off of trains because they did not want to go to the boarding school. running away, and never being seen again. this was, you know, there were many ways, yes, that children died, in those settings. and that is one of the things we are hoping we can find out. judy: it was, as you said, a widely accepted policy in this

country, in the united states, and in canada. i read your quote, from the civil war veteran, who founded the school for children in pennsylvania, carlisle, pennsylvania, who said, and i am quoting, killed the indian in him, and save the man. it is astonishing to think that was the mindset behind this. sec. haaland: yes, indeed. native americans were not thought of as humans. we were not considered citizens of this country until 1924. we did not have the right to vote, in many, many communities, some as late as 1960 or 1962. we were not thought of, as valuable, you know, contributors to this country. and yet, today, we see that native americans have the highest rate of military

service. the ratio is high than any other groups of people. we step up to defend our country. and, of course, today, we defied all of the odds. many of our families, our ancestors persevered. my grandparents were part of the assimilation era, after boarding school. they went and worked on the railroad in winslow, arizona. my grandfather was a diesel train mechanic for 45 years. that is what they wanted to do, was get native americans off of their lands, out of their communities. and my grandparents did that. but, instead, my grandfather protected our traditions, even in a place that was not his homeland. so that i could no and learn -- know and learn what it means to be a pueblo woman. i am so grateful they persevered

through all of that history. judy: as we know, canada established an independent, what they called a truth and reconciliation commission, to investigate this and get to the bottom of it. to try to, and to issue a report. in our country we have what you just mentioned, the indian boarding school initiative. it is being run under your department, the department of the interior. but it was the federal government that was in charge of this system. so my question is, can we be confident, that we are going to get to the bottom of it, when it is the government, in effect, investigating itself? sec. haaland: well, i absolutely feel with our, that we can work on healing. i really feel confident that -- that is a goal for us. and we want to make sure the families get the answers that they need, and that they want. the federal government has a trust obligation to indian tribes.

that is in exchange for all of the land that, essentially, became the united states. this was all indian land at one time. so i feel confident that this is part of our trust obligation to indian tribes, this initiative, that we are moving forward with. i feel very confident this is a new era. and we want to make sure that tribes have a seat at the table. judy: and ultimately, how do you see hold the institutions accountable, that were responsible for this? sec. haaland: that remains to be seen. of course, there is a lot -- recently i was able to participate in a ceremony at carlisle. it is now an army war college. it was the carlisle industrial school for native americans. my great-grandfather attended that school. i was invited by the rosebud sioux tribe, as they work to remove children from their tribe

who were buried in a cemetery there, to take them home to their homeland in south dakota. i think it is up to every tribe, how do they want to move forward? what is their idea, of healing? and what would make them feel like they have got the answers they want? and we are going to do our best to make sure we are attentive to those needs. judy: secretary haaland, you wrote recently about the challenge of loving your own country, a country that was responsible for committing these acts. how do you explain tt to others, to other native americans, who look at this and question, how can you love a country that has done this? sec. haaland: well, first of all, my ancestral homelands are here. and i cannot go anywhere else. [laughter]

this is my home. and this is where my family as. this is where my history is. we have been here for tens of thousands of years. and we want to make sure that we are defending this land for future generations. i believe very strgly in democracy. and if you look at tribes across the country, so many indian tribes had long-standing historical marker sees in their community -- historical marker sees in their -- democracies in their communities. and i am confident that our country can live up to his promise to our people and its citizens. and i want to be part of that. judy: secretary of the interior, depth haaland -- deb haaland, we thank you very much. sec. haaland: thank you. ♪

judy: for the first time, the united states government today warned american companies and individuals about the risks of doing business, studying or investing, in hong kong. the biden administration also sanctioned hong kong officials and accused them of eroding the city's freedoms as the chinese government continues to force its will on hongong. here is nick schifrin. >> judy, today's business advisory says because of the 2020 national security law beijing imposed on hong kong, americans are a risk of arrest. and businesses are at risk of electronic, worthless surveillance. restricted access to information because not crackdown on in in -- on media. and chinese it take comply with american sanctions. today the u.s. sanctions seven officials from the chinese commonest party office in hong kong. we turn to the china lead for that eurasia group, an international business consulting group.

michael, welcome back to the newshour. how significant is it that the u.s. forhe first time issue thisdvisory about hong kong? >> i do not think the findings in the advisory will be anything new or shocking to the business community. it does represent, i think, a deterioration in hong kong's business environment. it also shows you that the biden administration is willing to push the envelope on this issue, even though it is quite sensitive to china. nick: you talk to businesses in hong kong. what are ty saying? are they planning on any changes, because of this business advisory? >> i do not think the advisor is going to lead to any kind of rapid change in terms of how businesses view hong kong. i think, for financial services companies, hong kong is really still important as a capital gateway to china. but i think there are other companies who maybe have used hong kong as an asia regional hub, for whom this is going to

matter. it is going to play in conversations, for example with their board, where there is a diversity of views as to whether it makes sense to be in hong kong. now that the state department put out this advisory i think it does give a further color to those conversations. nick: let me zoom into the final warning today. that american businesses could face a chinese legal consequences, just for following american sanctions. that has not happened yet. but our businesses worried about it? >> that -- are businesses worried about it? >> it is a serious concern. it means a political risk companies face is not just about how you talk about hong kong or taiwan or tibet. it is about policies. it is becoming feasibly illegal to ms u.s. sanctions, u.s. -- to implement u.s. laws in hong kong. i think the reality will be nuanced. i think hong kong authorities

will be careful, not to disrupt hong kong's role as a financial center. but it is an area that is i think fairly new for firms. and given the sweeping nature of some of these chinese laws, you know, it is certainly a possibility. nick: we talked to a hong kong resident recently, and activist, who moved to europe. after the national security law was imposed, she did not feel safe in hong kong. let's listen to what she said. [clip] >> one of the most visible changes i see is self-centering themselves. people afraid to talk about things. under the law the freedom of the press is no longer existing. the freedom of speech, peaceful assemblies, these are gone. nick: do businesses share those concerns? >> they do. the canary in the coal mine are sectors most sensitive to the information environment. that is chnology companies and media companies.

several of those firms have already announced they are leaving hong kong. something like financial services, is a more nuanced area. they are less directly exposed. so they are worried about it, but it is not yet the kind of factor that would lead them to leave hong kong. nick: for many years, hong kong has been one of, if not the financial hub, in asia. bottom line, has not already changed? >> it has changed. essentially, hong kong is transitioning from being a global business hub, even an asian distance hub, to more of a capital gateway to china. ironically, hong kong's importance to the financial sector has increased because of u.s.-china financial tensions. so, hong kong is now that place where chinese companies are going public. it is where u.s. and other investors though, to gain exposure, to those companies. and it is worth financial services firms need to be. but the notion that hong kong is kind of an all-purpose hub,

where you would put your data center or where you would put your technology or media operations -- i think that has already changed. nick: michael, thank you very much. >> thank you. ♪ judy: over the past several days, we have looked at america's broken childcare system, and some of the programs trying to address the challenges. in this final part of our series, raising the future, america's childcare dilemma, special correspondent and producer kate mcmahon examined a key question confronting the country. what now? >> it is the busy lunch hour at the bakery in downtown the brassica. the man beat -- downtown nebraska. >> the figure eight is popular. >> he is a fourth-generation baker who wanted james beard award.

>> this is a family tradition. >> he says there are a lot of ingredients needed to run a successful business. for him, reliable workers are key. >> get three, ok? >> he has 30 employees and over the years some staff have had to quit d to childcare challenges. >> our people have to be here, to make the product, on time, every day. to make the product because our patrons expect roles and donuts and breads and sandwiches to be here. when there is not adequate childcare, it causes problems. >> he is one of many americans impacted in some way by the country's patchwork childcare system which costs the overall economy an estimated $57 billion per year, before the pandemic. >> i am a registered republican. as a businessperson, my mind goes to investment. i think childcare is an investment. obviously from the parent, that needs to be part of it.

but, maybe, the rest of us need to be part of it. >> showed the rest of us chip in for childcare? what with a national childcare system look like? in the wake of the pandemic those are some of the many questions being discussed and debated across the country, in homes, boardrooms, and washington, d.c.. president biden's message, childcare is as essential to the national economy as bridges and roads. pres. biden: the american families plan will provide access to qualy, affordable childcare. >> he is pushing for sweeping reforms that include free childcare for low income parents , reduced fees for middle income earners, a $15 minimum wage for providers, universal preschool for 3-4 euros, and paid family leave -- 3-4-year-olds, and paid family leave. the u.s. is the only industrialized country that does not have a nationalized daily policy. >> i believe very strongly the

first few months of life should be, all parents should have the opportunity to have paid family leave to be with their child. >> during her confirmation hearing the treasury secretary janet yellen said, the u.s. is fall behind other countries. >> where we stand out is that the united states does much less on the front of childcare and paid leave than most other valid economies. -- most other developed economies. >> the u.s. ranks 35th of 37 on gross domestic product spent on childcare programs. iceland spends the most but the u.s. spends less than one half 1%. to boost ratings it will take a big investment. according to one report it will cost 140 billion dollars per year to provide high-quality care for all kids from birth to five years old. >> a group of democrats is urging president biden to go big

and lower the cost of childcare. >> in this era of hyper-partisanship childcare reform has become a hot button issue on cable news. >> our next guest says it wages a culture war against normal people. >> and normal -- local news. >> any bill that makes it easier, or more convenient, for mothers to come out of the home and let somebody else raise their child, i just do not think that is a good direction for us to be going. >> as we traveled across america from oregon to nebraska, mississippi to the nation's capital, we heard a lot of different opinions when we asked, what now? >> we are already paying enough taxes. however, if they use the money they already collecting, to help parents, it would be great. >> childcare, even when a person starts making the living wage, it should not be taken away from them. >> i think childcare should be free. >> you want me to carry you? >> how will america work through

his childcare dilemma? >> ok. >> this may be the moment the nation decides. for the pbs newshour, i am cap wise. -- cat wise. ♪ judy: it has been a full week of political ns with democrats pushing an ambitious plan for education and health care, child tax credit hitting the bank accounts of american families. and former president trump, the subject of two new books. here to make sense of it, we have a new york times columnist, david brooks, and jonathan capehart, columnist for the washington post. welcom i want to start with what we heard earlier in the program from the secretary of the interior, this hundred year plus long system in the united states

of taking native american children from their families and putting them into boarding schools, many never sent back home, what is your sense of the process, the biden administration set up to investigate, and who should be held accountable? jonathan: i think it is terrific that secretary haaland will be leading this effort. as secretary of the interior, the first native american in a position to do that. a pueblo woman. also someone for whom this is not distant history. this is in her family. we have to investigate, we have to know our history and we have to know our history to atone for our history. we need to do that in order to be better. to be better people, to be better americans, to be a better nation. just hearing the word, boardin

school, for a lot of americans, you hear boarding school and you think, you know, the kids in different strokes. or you think of the british royal family, were a lot of well-to-do people go and become highborn and well bred. but that is not what happened to native american children. it was the exact opposite. they were brutalized. we do not know why they disappeared. or maybe they were killed. we do not know. but we need to know. it and it is terrific this is happening. how the nation should atone for this? that to be part of the discussion. i do not know exact how we should do that but we should talk about it. david: it is traumatic. that canadians are ahead of this and they have been going through this for the last six months. it has been a national trauma as they face that reality, but a trauma that has to be faced. looking back, there are so many levels to what happened. one is that wrought racism. -- raw racism.

they were not taking ukrainian kids, they were just taking native american kids. second, was the ideology. after darwinism, there were all of these pseudoscientific beliefs that races or some civilizations were better than others. therefore the idea that you're doing someone a favor by taking them away from their heritage, that was a pseudo-intellectual belief system pervasive in the fringes and pervasive in western society. this crazy, garbage science darwinism. the final thing, to be appreciated, they did not have them but hopefully we are getting out, the idea cultural diversity is a plus and not a minus. this is not a recent phenomenon in world history. the book of jeremiah embraces cultural diversity. but it was not commonly believed. now one thing we have done is we have come to cherish different heritage is -- different heritages and they way they

interact and we can interact and assimilate. judy: i hope so. it has been as i said to the secretary, one of the most disturbing things i have read. the more i read about it, the sick i became. let's bring it forward and talk about what is going outing -- going on now inongress. the democrats, president biden, working hard to push through this $3.5 trillion plan to boost education, health care, a number of other things. as a companion to the infrastructure package. >> right. judy: what are the prospects? doesn't it look like they're going to get it done? >> i have a note written to myself for you, judy, and it is, honestly, i do not know. there are 70 moving pieces here. the three point -- there are so manyoving pieces here. the $3.5 trillion plan is the american families plan, the american jobs plan, everything

progressives have wanted for generations. you have senator portman, a republican, they're altering to come up with this compromise. but if the republicans walk away, it falls apart. which, i am girding myself for the prospect. but the other thing is, let's say there is an agreement with the republicans. the president only has, he cannot lose anyone, and that is a very real prospect. especially when you have senator joe manchin saying, eh, the price tag is probably high and we have to have it all paid for and i do not like the climate change stuff. so after all of that i do not know what the prospects are but we will find out wednesday. judy: but you know the answer, right? >> i have a very firm guess. [laughter] first, starting with republicans is, they are in the ballpark. they have gotten this far down the road, as is likely. so you look at the republicans, i thought they might have walked away when joe biden announced the agreement or he had made a

couple of hours before, they did not walk away. senator portman from ohio, the republican, is saying if we walk away from infrastructure, the democrats will throw it into the reconciliation package and we will have no say in it so let's stay into the game. on the democratic side, the bernie sanderses of the world have come down quite a lot, more than i associate with bernie sanders practicing the art of the possible, so they got down to $3.5 billion and if you look at others -- they are saying, let me take a look. they are not saying yes, they are going to sport this thing and they are not saying no. i think they're going to negotiate. i really do not know either but i think you have done a pretty good job of getting closer. so they are in the ballpark of where it seems plausible. judy: i had to ask you even know i suspected you might not be prepared to tell us the final, final. another thing that did happen this week, is these checks for

child tax credits are now in the bank accounts of millions and millions of american families. is this going to make a difference? jonathan: in the short term it is going to make a difference to those families who get those checks. everyone likes to get money whether they find it in a coat pocket or wherever. when it is the federal government saying, we know you have been through a hard time. and here is some help. that is terrific. the problem, however, is twofold. one, it is temporary, i believe, one year. the other problem is, a lot of the people who really need the checks and should be getting the checks, will not be getting them, because they do not make enough money to file taxes. and therefore there is no record of them at the irs. the biden administration is moving to resolve that. but those are short-term problems.

in the long-term, the administration and democrats would love to make this permanent. and we have been around this town a long time. once you get an entitlement or something like this on the books, it is kind of hard to wipe it out. i think this is going to be something that will be popular, and that there will be popular pressure on congress to make it permanent. david: if you ask me to choose one policy to reduce child poverty, i would pick this. the conservative think tanks have plans. this is the idea, if you want to get rid of childhood poverty, give people, the families, money to make choices for their kids. get the kids into better environments because that families are less financially stressed. the kids, you can jushave a massive effect. i am betraying my canadian rates, canada did this a couple of years ago and a massive effect. estimates now a reduction of child poverty by 40%.

very rarely do you that a social program that has any effect that big. so it is a big effect. there are some republican talking points it will create dependency on government and there is no evidence of that in canada or australia. people are not edging backward to qualify for this. they are not turning into children to get the benefit. [laughter] so even from a conservative point of view this is a fantastic program. making it permanent is in this $3.5 billion thing which has been or should build on what has been passed. it did have until this town became so partisan, it had complete bipartisan support. as i said, marco rubio, mitt romney, have their own versions in the right direction. judy: i talked to the treasury secretary yesterday and asked her the question, could it discourage some families from going back to work? she said, we do not think so and we think parents will continue. we will see what happens. the last thing, jonathan, two books out in the last week with former president trump at the

center, in the final days of his administration after the election, desperately trying to reverse the election results. what do we learn from this? what do we see? are there heroes in people like the joint chiefs chairman mark miller? jonathan: on the one hand, it is nothing new if you have been hanging on with your finger narrows watching all of it in real time. i liken it to a coloring book. when you get a brand-new coloring book you have the outlines. then you take the color and crown and color it in. what these books -- the crayon, and colored in. these books are coloring it in, giving us more information about that skeletal the of what we know. it is vivid. it is horrifying. it is dangerous, protect lowly what we find a from the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff -- particularly what we find out from the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff.

i would say he is a hero, particular what he did behind the scenes. part of me wonders why can't we have heroes in real time? why can't these folks speaking off the record or on background in real-time to be do so more openly now that the administration is over. where were they in when the country really needed it? david: it is tough and this was the jim mattis problem, if you're military, to speak up. the four years, the outrageousness. in every department of government there were people who dithe right thing. they made sure the system basically worked. i would include the secretaries of state in places like georgia, a republican, who did the right thing, judges who did the right thing. so people do the right thing and the p -- the system basically ld up. judy: and there are more books to come so we will find out even more. an important question, thank you both, very good to have you here. have a great weekend. that is the newshour for tonight.

i'm judy woodruff. stay safe and have a good weekend. >> major funding for the pbs newshour been provided by -- consumer cellular johnson & johnson bnsf railway financial services firm raymond james the william and floraewlett foundation, for more than 50 years advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world at hewlett.org. ♪ >> supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the world's most pressing problems. skoll foundation.org. ♪ >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions:

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>> a critical lolook at critical race theory, this week on "firing line." >> just because i do not want critical race theory taught to myhildren in school does not mean that i'm a racist, damn it! >> it's an academic theory born decades ago. >> racism is more than a group of bad white folks, you see. it is built into the society. >> why is critical race theory at the center of a new national debate? >> the crusade against american history is toxic propaganda. >> john mcwhorter is a best-selling author. he's a professor of linguistics, a contrarian, and a commentator on race in america. >> "yes, we can't" has never been the slogan for black america, and it's not now. >> someone who has long followed critical race theory, he criticizes both what it's become and how it's used as a political punching bag.